{"id":1741,"date":"2010-01-06T11:28:25","date_gmt":"2010-01-06T17:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/?p=1741"},"modified":"2010-01-06T14:28:02","modified_gmt":"2010-01-06T20:28:02","slug":"positive-positions-perhaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2010\/01\/positive-positions-perhaps\/","title":{"rendered":"Positive Positions Perhaps"},"content":{"rendered":"
“Think, men, think.\u201d \u2014 Prof. Harold Hill, The Music Man<\/em><\/h5>\n

New Year’s Resolution No. 1 for 2010 is modest: Keep a book list. Then in a year there’ll be a better best books Brick<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

One could say that if the books I read were memorable then I’d remember ’em. It’s not as if I read that much, a couple of ink volumes a month at best, and about 1.5 recorded books a month heard while commuting. Quantity though measurable is relative. So this isn’t very many compared to either of my late parents, who read two or three novels or mysteries a week. All from the library<\/a>, like me.<\/p>\n

My Beloved prefers books on faith and spirituality — serious ones not glib pop — while I tend toward comic novels or Stephen King. It may mean I’m not deep anymore, but I’d rather claim that my mystical curiosity is on sabbatical because my set of live-by philosophies is working right now.<\/p>\n

So when called upon to recall my favorite volumes of 2009 — and I’m the only one who’s asking — I recall King’s Duma Key<\/em><\/a> (fun with great craftsmanship) and Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked<\/em><\/a> for its wit and character development. Those were absorbed via audio; I read Financial Lives of the Poets<\/em><\/a> by Jess Walter because of good reviews. I’m hard on comic novels and this one did succeed but it still was on the frothy side. Hornby’s still the contemporary writer to beat on making a reader giggle and think.<\/p>\n

Some nonfiction titles hit me so strongly that this roundup is really about them. <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Zeitoun<\/em><\/a> by Dave Eggers, is A micro look at Hurricane Katrina, featuring a paint contractor, residential but some commercial, and his family and friends. Its twist is that the fellow is Syrian so the post-Katrina Keystone Kops operation naturally takes him for al Qaida. Zeitoun<\/em> brings home how the leadership high in Washington is interpreted and made gospel on the ground. Turns out the Bill of Rights can be a luxury when it should be obvious how it’s most needed in crisis. The founding fathers knew this (Franklin: “Those who sacrifice liberty for freedom deserve neither.”) Long-form journalism is tricky, but Eggers paddles smoothly between all obstacles. This book should be required reading in high school.<\/p>\n

Mainly, though I want to shout out Free: The Future of a Radical Price<\/a><\/em> by Chris Anderson, read in the summer, and Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America<\/em><\/a> by Barbara Ehrenreich.<\/p>\n

The main thing about Free<\/em> is that it explains the different kinds of free goods, from samples given away in hopes of making sales to shareware, computer applications distributed in the hope that a few offer a donation. The computer age turns sales into absurdity. How can Google give away nearly everything it does and make apparently buckets of bucks? Free<\/em> explains. The cost of electronic information distribution and storage is approaching zero. I can\u2019t see how businesses and consumers can proceed into the next decade without understand how inevitable this concept is.<\/p>\n

If I had read Free<\/em><\/a> before Brick’s<\/strong> attempt last year at explaining news distribution<\/a>, I would have let Anderson do the explaining. My analysis is observational, without the benefit of an MBA, but my 2003 master\u2019s in journalism from the University of Arkansas helped. I don\u2019t have the access to experts or the time to do the extensive research that Anderson executed. His post as editor of the technology and culture magazine Wired<\/em><\/a> gives him perspective as well. Still, I\u2019m not deleting my essay.<\/p>\n

While Free<\/em> continues to inform my thinking on the Good Depression and beyond, Bright-Sided<\/a><\/em> informs my overall perspective. I\u2019m not summarizing it, though at 250-something pages it\u2019s not too long, just focusing on a point or two.<\/p>\n

Ehrenreich says her being treated for breast cancer inspired the book. She uses both history and current reporting to make points. The history doesn\u2019t start with Norman Vincent Peale<\/a> but decades before, to 19th-century Protestant trends, mainly the American approach to Calvinism (yes, Johnny was a 16th-century theologian) and the development of theological opposition to it. Her reporting includes taking in worship services of prominent evangelists and talking with them, as well as interviewing prominent psychologists and the like.<\/p>\n

Ehrenreich isn\u2019t a propagandist trying to manipulate readers but an arguer. I am persuaded, because she revealed something to me I never quite grasped before.<\/p>\n

An extreme form of positive thinking is materialistic. If you want something bad enough, want it completely with no reservations, you can have it. For the religiously minded, wanted isn\u2019t enough, you have to pray for it. It might be for a better job; it might be a car you can\u2019t afford. These aren\u2019t hers or my examples, just check out Oprah Winfrey<\/a> or\u00a0 pastor Joel Osteen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Therefore if you\u2019re stuck in your job or lose it \u2014 or are turned down for the car loan \u2014 then it\u2019s your fault. Yes in some way, you failed. People who every day believe that with a little more \u201cumph,\u201d they can get something, then night falls without success, feel like losers.<\/p>\n

The general form of positive thinking might best be Ehrenreich\u2019s personal example. You can\u2019t wish away cancer of course, but repeatedly she was told how a positive outlook helps. There is a little science, that a good disposition helps one keep to the course. But a pasted-on or even a sincere smile does absolutely nothing to stop the growth of cancer cells nor make therapy more effective. Chemistry and biology are at best indirectly advanced by pink household appliances<\/a>. Sure, money for research helps, but what about all the other body parts cancer attacks?<\/p>\n

No woman, Ehrenreich says, should ever think that breast cancer is her fault for not radiating good thoughts or memorizing affirmations. Cancer happens, and it’s fought conventionally, experimentally and with alternative approaches. People age and get sick. They need to learn their options with clear eyes, not lose time, focus or realistic hope with diversions, she writes.<\/p>\n

The author didn\u2019t say this, I don\u2019t recall, but there\u2019s lots of criticism and jokes about the me-me-me, it\u2019s all about me attitude that\u2019s prevalent. The Secret<\/a> concept, and a too-broad application of Positive Thinking by definition is self-centered. I want X, nevermind the world. Y happened to me, nevermind genetics or toxins. Z struck this person I know, she didn\u2019t fight hard enough, of course that won\u2019t happen to me. What about compassion?<\/p>\n

Ehrenreich sure didn\u2019t mention Meredith Willson\u2019s mid-20th-century musical The Music Man<\/a>, where Prof. Harold Hill sells River City, Iowa, band instruments and uniforms with \u201cThe Think System,\u201d where children don\u2019t need any musical training, saying, \u201cYou don\u2019t have to bother with the notes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Think, men, think.\u201d \u2014 Prof. Harold Hill, The Music Man New Year’s Resolution No. 1 for 2010 is modest: Keep a book list. Then in a year there’ll be a better best books Brick. One could say that if the books I read were memorable then I’d remember ’em. It’s not as if I read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mr-boo-klist"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2389,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2010\/11\/begetting-books\/","url_meta":{"origin":1741,"position":0},"title":"Begetting Books","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been some three decades since I last watched them do it, and I can't quite replicate it. I wish I could multitask like my parents, who excelled at the feat before it had a name. There's one round of activities of theirs that I envy. They could read mysteries\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life Lessons"","block_context":{"text":"Life Lessons","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/life-lessons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1339,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2009\/06\/audio-stunts-your-growth\/","url_meta":{"origin":1741,"position":1},"title":"Audio Stunts Your Growth","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"June 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Web site of the town stacks, Fayetteville Public Library, offers to e-mail patrons about new arrivals. A couple of months ago I signed up for the non-musical recordings notification to help me grab new book-on-CD titles. The shelves increasingly are picked over every time I stop by, at least\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mr. Boo Klist"","block_context":{"text":"Mr. Boo Klist","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/mr-boo-klist\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4143,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2013\/02\/chasing-a-tale\/","url_meta":{"origin":1741,"position":2},"title":"Chasing a Tale","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"February 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Book report: A Dog's Journey: Another Novel for Humans by W. Bruce Cameron, 2012 Bruce Cameron's novels make me scream. I read novels, not as many as I would like, maybe one and a half a month. Literary novels -- the popular ones far more than ones from small publishers,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mr. Boo Klist"","block_context":{"text":"Mr. Boo Klist","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/mr-boo-klist\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bo, the dog of President Barack Obama, amuses Burmese Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-Barack-Obama-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3146,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2011\/09\/making-book\/","url_meta":{"origin":1741,"position":3},"title":"Making Book","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"September 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Here it is September, and not only that but mid-September, and I have not posted my periodic list of books absorbed. This will be the second year I have attempted a complete list of books. Some I read, some I hear, as CD sets in the car while commuting. January\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mr. Boo Klist"","block_context":{"text":"Mr. Boo Klist","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/mr-boo-klist\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2263,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2010\/10\/but-seriously-folks\/","url_meta":{"origin":1741,"position":4},"title":"But Seriously, Folks","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"October 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The following is my column for the October 2010 edition of the monthly newsletter of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Defining and analyzing humor is a pastime of humorless people.\" -- Robert Benchley To avoid betraying my idol, Mr. Benchley, I'll rationalize. This is not analysis but a lesson\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Course of Words"","block_context":{"text":"The Course of Words","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/course-of-words\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":111,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2005\/09\/books-in-mud\/","url_meta":{"origin":1741,"position":5},"title":"Books in mud","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"September 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2005 Ben S. Pollock Dragging books through the mud Friday, Sept. 16, 2005: I have not written a Brick for more than week because the two subjects I wanted to hit seemed overdone. What could I write about Katrina? Nothing particularly valuable, though I will return to it. Also,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Body, Home, Street"","block_context":{"text":"Body, Home, Street","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/body-home-street\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1741"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1751,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions\/1751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}